


Counting Wooloos

by sugarblossom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen, What else did you expect? - Freeform, tbh that's literally it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:14:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22379284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarblossom/pseuds/sugarblossom
Summary: It had been a stressful day for both Ash and Hop, but their worries both melt away when meeting in a crowd of Wooloo.
Relationships: Hop & Hop’s Wooloo, Hop & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Satoshi's Pikachu | Ash Ketchum's Pikachu
Comments: 8
Kudos: 97





	Counting Wooloos

Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, Ash and Pikachu both basked in the sunshine, stretching. Both of them grinned, nodding to each other before racing through the ground and laughing. Pikachu twirled and hopped around, chirping happily as he stopped to smell a flower. 

Ash’s eyes glistened as the stared over the flower field. There were rows and rows of purple and pink tulips scattered across the land, as well as flaming sparks of red poppy flowers sprinkled throughout. Pikachu’s fur glistened under the shining sun as they grinned at each other.

The dots of colour popped and blurred across his vision as Ash scooped Pikachu up and ran into the field. It was like a rainbow sunset, the colours of flowers layered in such a way that they seem both scattered but united. Chuckling when Pikachu wriggled out of Ash’s grasp and onto his shoulder, Ash gasped as they came across a field of pure white. 

It was like a blanket of clouds, all moving together but going about in their own way. Kneeling down, Ash giggled when his aura naturally attracted some of the fluff. A few of these fluffy pokemon playfully nudged at Ash and headbutted him. Pikachu hopped onto one of them, giggling when the pokemon began to roll off and trying to balance on top of the moving pokemon. Ash watched them leave with a snicker.

Stroking the cotton ball-like pokemon, he gasped as a flash of purple shone through the layers of fluff. Surrounded by rows of thistle and lavender flowers, he watched a boy in the distance tie a friendship bracelet around presumably his pokemon, tugging it forward and giggling when the pokemon rolled back and forth. 

Ash stood up, walking over to the boy and grinning when a few of the same pokemon rolled past him or next to him. Soon enough, Ash was staring down at him, fields of white surrounding them like snow.

“Hey there!” Ash started, sitting next to the boy, who froze, gently rolling his pokemon back towards himself.

“...Hello.” The boy awkwardly shifted, embracing his pokemon and trying to hide his shy flush. Pikachu tumbled off the rolling ball of fur next to Ash, squeaking in greeting at the boy.

Petting Pikachu, Ash gave a chuckle as the white puffy marshmallow pokemon all rolled closer to them, bahhing and cooing. “Quite a nice day we’ve got, hm?” Pikachu hopped into Ash’s lap as one particularly brave furball snuggled against Ash, demanding pets.

The boy’s eyes practically sparkled as he stared between Ash and the field of pokemon, also relaxing. “I’ve never seen anyone as good with Wooloos as you are!” Pikachu gave a chuckle, like he expected nothing less from his trainer. 

“Really?”

“Yeah!” They both giggled, watching the Wooloos bounce up and down and sway back and forth. Pikachu pressed his paws against Ash’s chest, chirping and pointing to a certain Wooloo.

Ash pressed his hand directly against that Wooloo’s fur, gasping when the fur sinks around his hand like a giant pit of cotton balls. “Wooloos, huh? They’re so soft!”

The boy nodded his head off. “I know, right?” he exclaimed, snickering when his Wooloo lazily rolled in a circle in front of him before plopping down, giving a coo. “I love Wooloos, but specifically my Wooloo!” 

Like on cue, the boy’s Wooloo let out a “doh doh doh,” purring when the boy baby talked back, stroking Wooloo’s fur. Ash and Pikachu grinned at each other, the former rolling his eyes when Pikachu ran off to greet the Wooloo crowd. 

Eyes gleaming, Ash turned to the boy’s Wooloo and wordlessly cooed back while crouched. Wooloo lifted a hoof and pressed it to Ash’s knee. Cupping Wooloo’s face, Ash nearly purred as Wooloo playfully tackled him to the ground. The boy raised an eyebrow but grinned when Ash tenderly stroked Wooloo’s hooves, eyes drawn to the purple string. “A friendship bracelet?”

The boy immediately blushed in embarrassment. “Uh, yeah…”

“It’s adorable!” Ash complimented, chuckling when Wooloo licked at his cheek. “I should make one for my partner over there!” Pikachu was currently surrounded by Wooloos, barely visible if not for his vibrant yellow coat. “Too bad I don’t know how to make it.”

“I can teach you!” the boy yelled, before meekly continuing, “I mean, if you’d like me to…”

Grinning, Ash sat up, Wooloo in his arms like a pillow only made out of fluff. “I’d love that, thank you…?”

“The name’s Hop!”

Ash giggled, “Fitting. I’m Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and that’s my partner Pikachu!” Like being summoned, Pikachu jumped onto one of the Wooloos and loudly chirped. Both boys sweatdropped when the Wooloos startled, rolling away from Pikachu and letting him drop flat onto the flowers.

After a small yawn, Hop placed his hands behind his head and laid down on the field. “Have we met before? Your name certainly feels familiar.” Pikachu’s ears twitched as he darted next to Ash, smirking at Hop.

Ash booped Wooloo’s heart-shaped nose, grinning brighter than the sun when Wooloo gave a happy “meeehhh!” Glancing between Ash and Hop, Pikachu gave a soft squeak and laid down on the flowers.

“I don’t think we’ve met, but who knows?” Hop hummed in agreement, staring up at the puffy white clouds. Each a bundle of joy, judging by Wooloo’s reaction to being petted on the ears by Ash. Pouting, Pikachu ran off once more. “You certainly love your Wooloo a lot.” 

“Of course!” Hop exclaimed, as if anything else would be absurd. “Wooloo’s my partner! My first pokemon!”

Ash glanced off at Pikachu, who was trying to sneak up on some stray Wooloos. “Your starter, huh? I know that sentiment to a T.”

“Right? People may think I’m being too soft on Wooloo, but we’ll prove them wrong!” Hop grinned, sitting back up and patting his Wooloo’s back. Wooloo lightly shook their head as Hop continued, “My brother Lee caught Wooloo for me, saying how I should learn to be responsible for taking care of my pokemon. And that’s exactly what I did!”

Ash flicked at Wooloo’s tail before running a hand over Wooloo’s little horns. “Mhm! I get that too. People thought me and Pikachu wouldn’t get along, and yet now we’re best friends!” Pikachu cooed happily, waving from the distance. “I would never go anywhere without him!” Hop’s eyes twinkled, but his aura expressed a hint of guilt. Furrowing his eyebrows, Ash let Wooloo roll over to Hop. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Oh, no, I just… I didn’t do that. I pulled Wooloo out of my team for a battle against my rival to try to win against them. I still feel bad for it,” Hop explained, eyes sad as he rolled Wooloo closer to himself, patting Wooloo’s fur like a ball of dough.

Ash fell silent. After glancing over at a giggling Pikachu, he scooched closer to Hop, asking, “Have you two made up and promise to do better with each other?”

“Well, yeah?” Wooloo cooed in agreement, hoof batting at Ash.

“Then that’s all that matters.” Lightly smacking at Hop’s arm with the back of his hand, Ash smiled. “You’re clearly trying to make up for it already. And if Wooloo forgave you, you should forgive yourself as well.”

Hop sank against Wooloo, slightly nodding. “M‘kay.” His eyelids drooped a bit. “...Is it weird to say I instinctively feel safe around you?” Tail twitching, Pikachu grinned at Hop before trying and failing to get even remotely close to a Wooloo.

Ash’s aura almost beamed with joy. “I’m glad you feel that way. Not in a creepy way, of course!” They both chuckled, staring up at the sky. Ash also leaned against Wooloo, resisting the urge to bury his face in Wooloo’s fur. “These calm and happy moments are rare for me. Where I’m not focusing on what I’ve been through or will have to do in the future. So thank you.”

“No, thank you. I know exactly how that feels, and I’m glad you’re feeling happy.” 

There were a few moments of blissful silence, only broken by Wooloo’s “fluff flufluf!” Ash and Hop both laughed, even more so when Pikachu startled, electricity puffing the nearby Wooloos’ fur out like giant pom poms. The Wooloos weren’t hurt, simply rolling away from Pikachu. Pikachu sweatdropped, running back to the two laughing boys.

Ash was the first to recover, muttering, “Your friends are very lucky to have you. You’re kind, you’re gentle, you’re good to your pokemon...” He grinned at Wooloo, gathering Pikachu into his arms and sighing happily.

“...Really? Everyone usually comments that I’m too bold and reckless-” Pikachu gave a surprised chirp, staring up at Ash as he weakly grinned.

“You’re not alone, though you’ve got to get better friends than that. As long as you’re not being mean to anyone, people shouldn’t force you to be someone you don’t want to. Even if you feel like you should be someone you’re not.” Ash used one hand to play peekaboo with Wooloo for a few seconds before smiling. “I would feel blessed if you were my friend, honest.”

Hop stiffened for a moment, before staring at Ash and Pikachu with a goofy smile. “I’d be happy to be your friend! You see, I’m not super good at making friends-”

“I’ll be your friend!” Ash declared, before sporting a shy, almost uncharacteristically shy, smile. “If you’d want.” Wooloo nosed at Ash’s hand, seemingly thanking Ash. Pikachu booped noses with Wooloo, nodding.

“Yes yes, of course!” Hop exclaimed, before running a hand over his Wooloo’s fur, mumbling, “You hear that, buddy? Someone that loves us regardless of who Lee is!” Ash raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but judging by Hop’s joyful aura towards “Lee,” he didn’t press for more. They both had secrets to keep, after all.

After Wooloo gave a “ni hi hi hi!” and nuzzled at Hop’s cheeks, Ash reached down and plucked a bunch of stray flowers. In particular, cornflowers, daisies, and a couple of flax flowers. Ash quickly spread his aura out and healed all the flower stalks before starting to braid the flowers together. Pikachu seemed to understand what Ash was doing and leapt off, ears drooping when curling next to Ash.

Wooloo glanced between Ash and Hop, nuzzling at Hop as he yawned out, “Hey Ash? Can I doss off for a few minutes?”

“Is that napping? If so, you don’t need my permission. In fact, I’m glad you trust me that much.” Pikachu nodded, closing his eyes and softly purring.

Hop hummed elatedly before whispering to himself, “One Wooloo. Two Wooloos. Three Wooloos…”

Ash chuckled as Wooloo gave a “woo~” before leaning against them, alternating between folding and looping the stem of one flower over the next, and stroking Pikachu’s back, for a few minutes. He tied the bundle of flowers off and tucked the final stem between the first two stems to finish the crown. Wooloo curiously glanced up at Ash before snuggling with Hop and dozing off.

As he took a deep breath of the lavender flowers nearby, Ash slung his arm over Wooloo and placed the blue and purple dotted with white and gold flower crown over Hop’s head. The flower crown dangled over Hop’s closed eyes, and Ash grinned, eyelids also drooping. “Sweet dreams, Hop.” Pikachu’s ears unconsciously twitched in his sleep as Ash scooped him up and rested against Wooloo, also shutting his eyes.

The field of Wooloo ambled and rolled like giant stuffed plushies, all of them curiously guarding the four sleeping bodies but leaving them alone to their peaceful sleep. It was what they deserved, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you haven’t noticed, I have no idea how or where flowers grow. And I totally didn't procrastinate doing work, no siree, definitely not.
> 
> [Inspiration here!](https://ao3gangficprompts.tumblr.com/post/190411602793/corsolanite-hop-made-a-friendship-bracelet-for) You guys seeing this? My heart literally melts every single time I see this. Every single time.


End file.
